Eyelle
by Leana-Vine
Summary: Tony's already displeased a bit. All the Avengers have been living in his house for close to a year, then suddenly a bombshell: turns out Tony has an 18 year old niece and she's decided to come live with him! Jenette is OC, but Greg Stark is real. Jenette's FC is Blake Lively. Slash to come! Rated T for language. Image is of Greg on left and Tony on right. I don't own the Avengers.
1. New Arrival

**A/N: **Thanks to all my fabulous readers and your lovely reviews. I hope you'll continue to send me reviews. This story's a bit different. I hop you'll all be able to follow! I had a random though after watching Iron Man again today and thus came all this! Yay! Oh, and the title of the story will make sense in the next few chapters.

**And attention, this next part is extremely important:**

**JENETTE STARK HAS A DIARY. IT'S ONE OF MY OTHER STORIES **_**THE DIARY OF JENETTE STARK**_**. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ HER DIARY TOO IF YOU'RE GOING TO READ THIS STORY. THERE ARE THINGS MENTIONED IN HER DIARY THAT WEREN'T MENTIONED HERE. EVEN AFTER THIS STORY ENDS, SHE'LL HAVE A FEW MORE DIARY ENTRIES SAYING WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THIS STORY. WITH EVERY NEW CHAPTER OF THIS, THERE'LL BE A NEW DIARY ENTRY. THEY'RE NOT LONG, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT YOU READ THEM. PLEASE DO SO.**

This has been newly edited. There shouldn't be any errors. If there are then damn, three days of nonstop work must've really got to my eyes. Please read, review, and enjoy.

* * *

"Sir," JARVIS said on the intercom, "you have a visitor."

Tony was drowning out everything around him with AC/DC music blasting as loud as possible. It was enough to make his ears hurt, but he didn't want to be bothered right now. He worked diligently on his supersuit, making the upgrades needed. He'd barely even heard the AI system and decided he'd pretend he didn't hear JARVIS at all. That was, until the AI system turned down his music. Tony threw down his tool in anger. "What? What JARVIS? What could be so important that you turned down my music? You know I hate that!"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but as I said, you have a visitor. She's been standing outside for quite some time now."

Tony groaned, standing so quickly he left his swivel chair spinning. "I swear, if it's not some hot girl that's lost I'm going to lose it." He left his lab and started up the stairs. He was still mumbling to himself, "Damn computer turning down my music while I'm working…."

When Tony came to the top of the stairs and entered the kitchenette, he stopped dead. Natasha Romanoff was sitting at the table and standing by her was a teenage girl, maybe 18, with long blonde hair and wearing a tacky school uniform. She turned and looked at Tony, almost no emotion on her face. The only emotion that might've shown was rage.

Tony walked over to her and looked at Natasha as he asked, "Who the hell is this?" He looked at the teenager then back to Natasha, waiting for answers.

Pepper walked in from the other room and over to them. "This is Jenette Stark. She's your niece."

Tony looked at the teenage girl again. He was silent for a moment before uttering, "…You're Greg's daughter?"

Jenette nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

Tony sighed in surprise and sat down. "I didn't even know the poor bastard had a daughter…." Thinking about his dead brother was something painful for Tony, especially considering the last time they saw each other Gregory had tried to kill him. Memories of their fight and of Thor shocking Gregory with lightning was horrifying. Greg had been so badly burned, enough that he was declared dead. (**A/N: **I'm basing all that off the comics Ultimate Comics: Avengers. If you want to do your own research, just look up Tony Stark's brother or Gregory Stark. He's real I swear. But he's dead.) Tony looked back up at Jenette. "Wh-where have you been all this time?"

Jenette still looked at him seriously. "A boarding school in London. Before that, Singapore. They told me that I had an uncle but I never saw you. Daddy's money couldn't take care of me for forever."

Tony swallowed. "You didn't have a mother? I mean, I don't think Greg was ever married."

Jenette nodded. "He was never married, but he did have me. My mother died in child birth; I never knew her. But Daddy was going to marry her after I was born. The opportunity never came up."

Tony looked down at the table, really needing a drink. "Well…what're you doing here?"

Natasha answered that one. "She's 18, so legally she doesn't have to be an orphan anymore, and she's decided to live here at Stark Tower with all of us."

Tony looked at Natasha, then Pepper with bewilderment. "You _can't _be serious. I'm not good with kids!"

Jenette crossed her arms. "Haven't you slept with girls my age, though?"

Tony looked at her wide eyed then back at Pepper. "Don't leave me with this, Pep. I _cannot_ stand moody teenagers. You know that."

Pepper shrugged, hands on her hips. "Well she's right, you are a playboy. And now I'm doubting if you're boyfriend material."

Tony rested his head on his hand, frustrated. "Wha-what?"

Pepper looked down at him seriously. "Well I mean, a man that won't even house his only family, why would I want to date someone like that?"

He laughed nervously then looked up at her. "This is insane." He stood quickly, knocking his chair over. "I only just found out that I even _have _a niece, and now it's either let her live with me or lose my girlfriend?" He ran a hand through is raven hair. "This is madness…."

Natasha put a hand on his shoulder. "I see how this must be aggravating to you, but it should be okay, shouldn't it? All the rest of the Avengers are already living here; what's one more person?"

Tony shrugged off her hand. "That's just it: there are already so many of you living here. I am not a hotel franchise!"

Jenette sat on the table, crossing her legs. "Don't I feel loved, being turned away by the only family I have." She glared. "Look, I know you don't know me, but I know you. I don't like you. But I refuse to live in a boarding school in London any longer. It's awful there. And this uniform is hideous."

Tony clapped his hands together. "Fine! Fine, I'll get you a house anywhere you want. I mean, you're 18 right? Old enough to live on your own? I'll even buy you a whole new wardrobe." He looked at Pepper. "Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is. I'm offering to give her a chance to not live with the uncle she hates."

"Despises," Jenette corrected.

Tony turned to her angrily. "And what the fuck did I ever do to you?" he asked. "I've never even met you before."

She glared at him. "You killed my father, you jackass." She pushed him away then walked off. Natasha looked at Tony with fury then followed after her.

Pepper sighed, not even wanting to look at Tony. During his protests of not actually being the one that killed Gregory, she put a hand to his mouth. "Just be quiet, Tony. You are the least understanding man I know." She stepped closer to him, looking into his eyes with angered curiosity. "What happened to all of your passion to help people? She's your _niece. _The last piece of flesh and blood that you share on this Earth. You're all she has, Tony."

Tony looked at her with skepticism. Then he looked away with a groan. "God damn." He looked at Pepper again and pointed. "This is all Thor's fault, really. I mean, he's the one that fried Greg to a crisp."

Pepper crossed her arms. "How can you say that without the least bit of sadness? He was your brother, Tony."

He brought his face closer to hers and he angrily hissed, "The bastard tried to kill me. He was my older brother and he tried to kill me. He wanted to take over my company and he threatened the safety of my friends. I don't give a damn about him. I didn't know he had a daughter; how was I supposed to know?"

Pepper ran a hand through her bangs, looking away from him. She sighed, an angry smile on her face. "You are impossible." After a moment of silence, she finally looked back to him. "It's not fair of you to make her pay for his mistakes." Then she walked away, leaving the confused man all alone.

Tony collapsed into a chair, frustratingly grumbling curse words to himself. As much as he really wanted and needed a drink, part of him felt like that would only further piss off Pepper. That was not something he needed. He could already tell they wouldn't be sharing a bed tonight. "Damn…."

* * *

Jenette sat on the couch, knees pulled up to her chin. Her blonde hair hung off her shoulders like a canopy as anger and sadness completely enveloped her. Natasha sat by her feet, groping her knee in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Tony can just be a jackass sometimes."

Jenette shook her head. "I didn't expect him to just fall in love with me suddenly. From what I hear my dad didn't get along with him too well. He used to say that I looked just like my mom. …I wonder if I look like him too." Natasha cracked a small, comforting smile. Sympathy was coming to her easily around this girl.

Pepper walked in a few minutes later and sat on the floor next to the couch. "Sometimes I wonder what I see in that man," she groaned. Then she looked at Jenette. "I'm sorry, Jenette. You can stay here if you'd like. He protested the Avengers staying and even after they moved in he didn't like it for a while. It took him a while but he got used to them all. Now almost been a year and I think he's finally used to them."

Jenette hid her face in her knees. "Yeah, and I'm messing that all up."

Natasha shook her head. "No you're not. Oh, damn Tony for being such a jerk." She looked towards the kitchenette as she heard before the other girls that Tony was coming their way.

Tony entered with a bottle of water in his hand. He looked at them all then before he took a drink of his water said, "Why is seeing you two comfort her so hot?"

Natasha glared and Pepper looked at Tony in disgust. "My god, Tony, that's your niece!"

He shrugged. "Okay, I'll leave her out of it then. More room for me."

Natasha shook her head, standing and leaving the room. Pepper also shook her head, looking at him like she had no respect. "Just when will everything stop being such a big joke to you, Tony?"

Tony threw his hands up (thankfully the cap was back on his water bottle.) "What the fuck do you want from me, Pepper? Just ten minutes ago I find out that I have a niece that wants to move in with me! What do you want from me?"

"To let her move in with you, you jackass!" Pepper yelled. Her voice came as a shock to Tony, and he quickly looked away.

Jenette sighed. "I should've never come here." She stood, walking back towards the kitchenette.

Tony followed her. "You're right! You shouldn't have come here! I still don't know why you did. My life was perfectly fine before I found out I was an uncle!"

With no warning, Jenette turned quickly and chopped Tony in the Adam's apple. He gagged and then her hands moved quickly, stabbing with just her fingers in the pressure points on his chest and abdominal area. When he fell to his knees then over on his side, she glared down at him. "Just shut up already. I didn't ask to have you as my uncle. I couldn't have asked for a worse one." She kneeled down next to him, putting her face next to his. "But you know what? We're stuck with each other. You're stuck with me. _Get used to it_."

With that she stood and walked away. Pepper came from where she'd been watching in the doorway and kneeled by Tony. "My god, she's amazing," she said in a hushed voice.

Tony sat up, rubbing this throat. "She's just like her dad…."

* * *

Jenette didn't have much luggage. In fact, it was mostly just a few of her hideous, blue school sweaters and blue and gray plaid skirts from her uniforms along with some other tasteless clothes and a few other things.

"What is that?" Tony asked from where he stood in the doorway of her new room, watching her unpack.

Jenette picked up the item of his interest, a pink and white stuffed hedgehog. "It's Hedge Pedge. Daddy gave it to me when I was five."

Tony lifted an eyebrow. "Hedge Pedge?"

She glared at him. "Like I said, _I got it when I was five_. It's the only thing I have now that I got from him."

Tony sighed a bit. "Sorry." He looked at the hideous uniforms laid out on her bed. "Please don't tell me you plan on wearing those around."

Jenette looked back at him, now done unpacking. "Why not?"

He laughed a bit. "Because in America, we dress in style. I know you've never lived here or anything, but I figured you'd know that. Just how long were you in London? You don't have an accent."

Jenette turned from him to slide her suitcase under her bed. "I lived in Singapore until Daddy died when I was five." She paused. "I've lived in London since then."

Tony swallowed, awkwardly looking at the floor. Then he looked back up at her. "Why London?"

She shrugged, standing back up and patting wrinkles out of her skirt. "I picked it. I thought London was this magical place. I guess it sort of was. Just not their boarding schools." (**A/N: **I do not share the views of any characters in any of my stories. I'm sure London is lovely.)

Tony looked at the clothes she had laid out. Even the clothes that weren't uniforms were drab. "Well, I can't stand it. I'm going to have Pepper take you clothes shopping. Only Nat gets to wear depressing clothing in this house."

"I heard that," Natasha called before she walked to the doorway. She looked at Jenette then Tony. "Things going okay? You two not at each other's throats yet?"

Tony nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I guess we're okay. Though I'm pretty sure she still doesn't like me," he paused to notice the glare Jenette threw him, "maybe she'll love me after I buy her clothes."

Natasha slapped him on the back of the head. "You can't just buy her love, you jerk." She groaned and crossed her arms. "I would kick your ass, but I heard Jenette already did that." A smile crept quickly to her face before she walked away.

Tony sighed then stepped into Jenette's new room. "I'm guessing you told her about that?"

Jenette smiled triumphantly. "No, Pepper must've. But that's good. Let the word be spread that Jenette Stark is not someone to be messed with."

Tony walked towards her more with a small smile. "Yeah, uh where the hell did you learn to do that?"

She smiled a bit. "From Daddy. He only taught me defense though."

Tony nodded, swallowing. He looked away then back to Jenette. "Umm, I have a question."

Jenette sat on her bed, avoiding her clothes. "What?"

Tony rubbed a hand over his mouth then looked at her again. "Well, uh, you're 18 right? Does that mean that I…well am I still a legal guardian or anything?"

Jenette laughed a bit and shook her head. "No, you don't have to be. I'm 18 so I don't need a guardian. Why? Would that have been a problem?"

Tony crossed his arms, looking at the floor. He hesitated then let out a held in breath before saying, "Well, yeah sort of." He looked back to a confused Jenette. "I don't mean any offense or anything, but realistically I did just meet you. It'd be sort of weird for me if I suddenly found out I was your guardian."

Jenette looked down at the floor. "No, I understand. I still think it's weird that you don't know me. I mean, I've known about you for a long time."

Tony cocked an eyebrow at her, sitting on her bed. "What are you saying? You knew I was your uncle?"

She folded her hands in her lap, looking down at the floor. "Well, my school studied wars and military when I was younger, and in my research I learned about Stark Industries. I remembered my dad always saying he was the person who should've been running the 'family industry,' so I put two and two together that Tony Stark must be related to me somehow." She sighed, smiling at the floor. "And I remember being in that boarding school, always dreaming about the wonderful Tony Stark that would come and save me." She glared at Tony. "But you never came. Not only that, but I found out you were the one that killed my father."

Tony groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Look I'm sorry I never came and got you. I didn't even know you existed! But I didn't kill your father. He tried to kill me, and someone else protected me."

She turned to him. "Then, who?"

He sighed. "I can't tell you, because he lives here."

Her eyes widened and she stood. "What?"

Tony stood, shushing her. "He's an Avenger, Jenette. I'm sure he didn't actually mean to kill Greg. He was just protecting us."

She covered her eyes with her hands and groaned. "I…I can't be in the same place as the man that killed my father…." Her shoulders shook a bit with emotion. "It would've been different if it was you…."

Tony just watched her sympathetically then sighed. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. Jenette quickly accepted the hug and cried lightly. Sadness came to Tony's face as he held his niece close, the last person of his family left on Earth.


	2. Moving In

**A/N: **I forgot to mention in the first chapter, but Jenette Stark has a tumblr. Yeah, it's an RP account, so if you role play, you can come play with me there. The URL is jenette-stark.

I hope you all like this chapter. Remember, with every new chapter of this, Jenette updates her diary, so you need to go read that too.

This has been newly edited. There shouldn't be any errors. If there are then damn, three days of nonstop work must've really got to my eyes. Please read, review, and enjoy.

* * *

Jenette stood there awkwardly, hands fumbling with the hem of her blue uniform sweater. She looked around at the small crowd in front of her. Tony's hand on her back urged her to speak, so she said sheepishly, "Hello."

Clint was the first to say something. "…Is this a new girlfriend, Stark?" he said sarcastically.

Tony half smiled. "She's my niece."

Bruce nearly choked on his coffee and Clint's eyes widened. Steve just stared. Jenette was starting to feel like an experiment at a science facility or a circus act. (**A/N: **Haha see the joke I did there?)

"So wait, _she's _related to _you_?" Clint asked. His eyes kept shifting from Jenette to Tony.

Tony narrowed his eyes angrily at the archer. "What are you suggesting, Barton?" If he was insulting the only bit of family he had….

Clint pursed his lips. "Well I mean, since she's related to you and all, does that make her…unavailable?"

Jenette looked at him confused and Natasha groaned, slapping Clint on the back of the head. "Yes, Clint, _she's off limits_."

Clint rubbed the back of his head, frowning at her. "I don't remember becoming your property, princess." He looked back to Tony to confirm, and Tony gave him a nod, along with a small glare.

Bruce held out a hand to Natasha from where he sat and she walked behind him, taking his hand. "Come on, Tony. You can't shelter the girl."

Tony sighed, running a hand though his hair, his other hand still on Jenette's back. "Look, we just met a few hours ago. She's the only family that I have left, so if I want to protect her from Barton, that's what I'm going to do."

Clint looked offended. "How am I such a bad guy? What did I ever do? Does protecting Asgard make you a villain? If so, Thor should _definitely _not be allowed around her."

Thor walked in at about this time. "Good Midgardian afternoon, everyone." What a weird way to say hi.

Tony's eyes darted to Thor. "Yeah," he mumbled, "I was about to talk about that."

Jenette also turned her eyes to Thor. This whole time she'd been wondering which of the people in front of her was her father's killer, but now Thor entered the picture. A god from another world. He wouldn't kill anyone, would he?

Tony looked at Jenette again. "Why don't you go to your room for a bit so I can talk to these guys?" Jenette nodded to him then quickly hurried to her room. Once her door was closed, Tony looked to Thor again. "I need to talk to you, Thor." Now everyone looked at the god.

Thor glanced at all of them then looked to Tony again. "Of course, Tony. What is it you wish to discuss?"

Tony cleared his throat then looked at the other Avengers. "Guys, can I talk to him alone?" They all hesitated before getting up to leave. Pepper was the last to leave, sharing eye contact with Tony for a few extra seconds before she walked out. Tony sat down at the table. "This isn't something easy for me to discuss, Thor."

Thor looked at him, concerned, then sat down at the table as well. "Whatever the issue is, Tony, you may speak of it with me."

Tony looked down at the table, thinking how awkward and awful this all was. "Thor…do you remember about 13 years ago? It was after the fight against your brother, and we fought mine?"

Thor looked like he was pondering, then he nodded. "Yes, I do remember such an occurrence. Why do you ask me, Tony?"

Tony ran a hand through his raven hair. "Well, remember how he tried to kill me? And to protect me you shocked the hell out of him with your lightning? He was so burned that he was almost unidentifiable…and he died."

Thor nodded, looking at the table. "Yes, that was indeed a sad day. Such a man did not need to die - it was not necessary."

Tony nodded then looked at Thor again. "He had a daughter, Thor."

Thor suddenly looked up at him, surprised. "What?"

Tony nodded again. "Greg had a daughter. I didn't find out about it until today. I was never really regretting his death because he tried to kill me first, but…well now it's different. She was only five when it happened, and she grew up with no family."

Thor put a hand over his own mouth, staring painfully somewhere distant. "That is…awful." He looked to Tony again. "This girl, whatever happened to her?"

Tony's mouth twitched to a half smile for only a second, then he sighed. "That's why we needed to talk, Thor. She…is going to be living here from now on." As Thor's eyes widened, Tony explained further. "Did you see the blonde girl that was in here before? _That's her_. She doesn't know that you're the one that killed her father, so I was thinking maybe it'd be best if you kept your distance from her. I'd hate for her to get attached to you only to find out you killed her father."

Thor nodded, eyes on the table, a hand on his chin. Then he looked up at Tony again. With another small nod, he replied, "If you think that is what would be best for the child, then I shall agree with you on the matter. I will keep my distance from her as long as it is possible."

Tony half smiled, slapping a hand on Thor's arm. "Thanks Thor. You don't know how much I appreciate it." Then he stood and left, leaving Thor there with awful memories and screams that resonated in his mind ever since that night.

* * *

In her room, Jenette lay on her bed on her side, knees curled up to her chin. It was killing her to know who the real killer of her father was. For the past few months, she'd decided on her feelings of Tony based on the fact that she thought he was the killer. But now, all of those feelings of hate and anger were without reason, while someone who deserved those feelings got off scott-free.

Tony entered her room, quietly closing the door behind him. "Hey, Jenette. How are you doing?" he asked. To him, it seemed like a pointless question judging from how she was almost curled up in the fetal position, but he wanted her to know he cared. A sarcastic remark about depression or how her skirt was open right now wouldn't help anyone, not even him.

Jenette sat up, stretching her legs out straight in front her of her. She sighed as if she'd awoken from a nap, and for a second Tony considered the fact that she could be a person able to sleep with their eyes open. "I've been better," she replied. "I just…feel awful."

Tony sat on the bed. "What's on your mind, kiddo?"

She half smiled a bit, looking down at the fabric of the comforter. "…I don't think I've ever had a bed this nice." She paused then sighed. "I feel awful because I've hated you since Rodney told me you were involved in the killing of my father. Before then I just didn't really like you because you never came to get me from that boarding school, but to hear that my own uncle was involved in _killing my father. _I just hated you to my very core.

"The entire reason that I came here was because I wanted to make your life a living hell. I figured that since Dad didn't really leave enough money for me to keep the mansion, I'd sell that and give the money to his lawyer to pay off his debts, then I'd come here and mooch off of you until you went crazy. But now you're telling me you didn't even kill him. Now that I think about it, Rodney never said you actually killed him, he said you were _involved_.

"Before I was alright with living here because my uncle was a killer. I was going to drive you so mad that you'd either get locked away in an insane asylum, or you'd do us both a favor and kill me too…. But now you're not the killer, and I don't know who is. I feel like I'm a blind person being led through a prison yard. Any of these people could kill me at any time, and I would never see it coming."

Tony reached over an put a hand on hers to comfort her. She looked like she might cry, so he looked at her with affirming eyes. "Look at me, Jenette." When she turned her eyes up to his face, and sniffled, he swallowed, then told her, "I promise with all of my heart that no one in this house will ever hurt you. No one would dare to even threaten you. _No one. _Not as long as I'm around. I want to make sure that no one ever hurts you like that again."

Jenette sadly smiled then hugged him, letting him wrap her in his arms. Tony stroked her hair, not feeling as awkward as before. Now he felt more like this was a role that he was bound to adapt to. "Jenette, I am _so _sorry that I was never there for you growing up. If I had known that Greg had any children, I would've came and visited you - good with kids or not - because you're my family. I know that your father didn't tell me about you, not just because we didn't get along, but because I haven't always been a very responsible person.

"When your father heard that I was Iron Man, he thought I'd gone insane. He even called me one night to tell me so. We hadn't spoken in years, so just hearing his voice was…odd. But to hear that voice yelling at me that I was a fool, that I didn't deserve to run Father's company, that I didn't deserve all the love and fame that I was getting…. It only makes sense that if he thought that of me, he wouldn't think I was worthy of getting to know my only niece." He swallowed, not wanting to revisit all the pain of his past with his brother.

Jenette leaned back and looked at him, and Tony continued talking. "See, I guess I sort of see how you feel. My father sent me off to a boarding school too, so I know it's awful to live in one." She looked at him surprised and he gave her a half smile. "The only difference was my dad was trying to get rid of me." Jenette was quiet then she settled back into the hug.

* * *

The other Avengers had all congregated back into the kitchen. Bruce grimaced at his coffee which wasn't hot anymore. He cleared his throat, putting his mug back down on the table. "So Tony has a niece, huh? How's he taking it?"

Pepper sighed. "Well he was all upset at first, but he seems resilient now. I think he was just worried initially because he's not very good with kids."

Clint chuckled once. "But she's not a kid. She's a woman."

Natasha glared at him. "One that I must remind you is _off limits_. Don't go trying any of your slick moves on her."

He laughed. "I only need slick moves on the tough ones, like you." He winked, and Bruce threw him a glare, taking her hand from where he sat. Clint took it as a sign to back down and not bring up the past.

Tony walked out with Jenette, a hand on her back again. It seemed like he was always afraid she was going to run away, and she just might, considering the person that killed her father was somewhere in the group in front of her. "Nat, Pep, I have a new assignment for you both."

Natasha didn't look up right away. She only usually let it slide when Clint or Bruce call her 'Nat.' When Tony did it, it seemed too chummy. Pepper looked up right away. "An assignment?"

Tony nodded and moved his hand to Jenette's shoulder. "I want you to take Jenette clothes shopping. I'll give you all my credit cards. I just need her to…not be in these awful uniforms." Jenette threw him a small glare.

Pepper smiled, nodding, but Natasha didn't look too thrilled. "Why do I have to go? I thought you said I wore 'depressing clothing.' Shouldn't this be something Pepper does?"

Tony held up his other hand as a 'why not' gesture. "Why don't you get new clothes too. You always wear black. Black is depressing on women when it's worn too much."

Natasha rolled her eyes, but Pepper smiled at her. "That actually sounds like a good idea, Natasha."

Thor looked confused. "I do not understand. Is it not suitable for Midgardian women to wear dark colors?"

Steve shook his head. "No, it's fine, it's just not as pretty as colors." Natasha glared at him and Steve swallowed. "I mean, it's still really pretty but…." He slowly quieted down, deciding it would be better to keep his mouth shut. Not only was he not good at talking to women, he was bad at talking _about _them too, even after all these years.

Natasha sighed, looked at Bruce, then looked at Tony again. "When?"

Tony looked at his watch then at Jenette, then back to Natasha. "Well, _now _I guess. I don't like these uniforms _at all_."

Clint laughed like he was about to make a comment but just about everyone except for Jenette and Thor glared at him, so he closed his mouth. After a few more seconds of glaring, they all turned back to normal and Pepper stood. "Alright then, let's go Jenette."

Jenette looked at Tony, still a bit scared, but he nodded to Pepper as if saying 'It's okay, go on. She doesn't bite.' Jenette turned to Pepper then slowly walked off with her and Natasha. Tony watched them go, and once they were gone, he turned back to the men at the table who were all staring at him. He arched an eyebrow. "What?"

Bruce shrugged, pursing his lips. "Nothing." Then he smiled. "It's just…."

"Different," Steve said, "to see you caring about someone like that." All the men nodded in agreement with Steve.

Tony put a hand on the back of a chair, leaning on it, putting his other hand on his hip. "What? I'm incapable of caring about people? I care about Pepper."

Clint nodded. "Yeah, but you get to have _sex _with Pepper." Steve blushed a bit, looking away. He was still so innocent.

Tony looked at the table, licking his lips, then looked back up to all the men. "Well…screw all of you." He started to walk away and they all starting calling out his name in that voice that was like 'Aww come on, take a joke.' Tony turned back to them and pointed at Clint. "Stay away from my niece." Then he walked off.

All the men stared at Clint again. His eyes darted to all of them, then he shrugged. "What?"

* * *

Pepper was pushing clothes into Jenette's arms. "I'm not really sure what style would look best on you, so we're going to try all of them. Even if we have to go to every clothing store in Manhattan."

Natasha looked at Pepper with wide eyes and so did Jenette around the stack of clothing. "I don't think all of that is really necessary, Pepper," she said, shifting the heavy load in her arms.

Pepper shook her head, smiling. "Anything means necessary for a Stark, and anything is possible. I am going to turn you around. No more being gloomy in that clothing." She looked at Natasha. "And Natasha, if I can at least get you a couple of things in color I'll be satisfied."

Natasha sighed. "Fine. But I'm picking the color." Then she walked away.

Pepper started to guide Jenette to the dressing rooms. Jenette had never seen so many clothes in a dressing room at once. Usually only three outfits were allowed, but Pepper explained everything to the teller girls and they were willing to allow it. Why would a Stark steal anything?

As Jenette tried on the first outfit, she started to ask questions. "Can I ask you something, Pepper?"

Pepper was momentarily distracted because Natasha walked in with a few outfits and Pepper was trying to sneak a peak at what she was carrying. But then she turned back to the dressing room stall that Jenette was in. "Yeah, what is it?"

Jenette paused as she was pulling a dress over her head, and it muffled her voice. "Why was it that Tony was a jerk when we first met but now he's nice?"

Pepper's smile faded and she leaned against the wall. "Well, when Tony is stressed out, he shows it by being erratic. He isn't always like that."

"Yes he is," Natasha said from the other stall.

Pepper kicked the door. "You're going to confuse her." Then she looked back to where Jenette was. "Give him time, Jenette. He'll warm up to you. He's just having a hard time finding all of this out."

Jenette paused. "Are you married to Tony?"

Pepper smiled. "Yeah, I am. It was private, though. That's why I don't wear a ring and we still say we're boyfriend and girlfriend. Publicity, we didn't want more than what we had. We started dating in 2009 and the press was already on our butts about that. So we got secretly married in 2011."

Jenette hesitated, thinking about it, then she decided to accept what Pepper was saying. She sighed then opened the door of her dressing room stall. "What do you think?"

Natasha came out of her stall too, the back of the blue dress she was wearing not even zipped up, just to get a look. They both scanned over Jenette with their eyes. Pepper smiled wide. "Oh yeah."

* * *

At Stark Tower, Clint, Thor and Steve were working out in a training room. Clint pushed his barbell back up onto it's rack and sat up, huffing. "I think I want lunch."

Thor stopped punching the punching bag that Steve was holding for him and they both looked at him. "Yeah, lunch does sound good," Steve said.

They made their way to the elevator, talking about what they might like for lunch. Clint suggested that they order a few pizzas, and that seemed to stick with the other two men.

As they entered the kitchenette, they froze. Bruce, who had already been in there, was frozen too. Pepper, Natasha, and Jenette stood there, all of them in new outfits. Pepper was in a sleek red dress, and Natasha was wearing the first blue dress she'd picked out, the neck cutting down to her ribs. And Jenette was in a small white dress, awkwardly fumbling with her hands and blushing.

Bruce was the first person that was attempting to talk. "You…you all look, so…."

After a pause, Clint finished his sentence, saying, "_hot!_" with a big smile on his face.

Steve was blushing. "I don't think I've ever loved those colors more than I do now…."

Thor bellowed a laugh. "Your elegance would make any goddesses of Asgard jealous and proud in a mixture of emotions."

Pepper laughed, Natasha cracked a small smile, and Jenette blushed deeply. Tony walked in. "What's everyone-" He paused when he saw the beautiful women in the kitchen. Then he smiled. "There are my beautiful girls." After a small pipe in from Bruce like '_your _girls?' - he was talking about Natasha, of course - Tony walked over to Jenette smiling. "You look fantastic." He smiled at Pepper. "Great job, Pep."

Pepper gave Tony a wink, then she smiled at Jenette. "This is a new face to the name Stark - a beautiful, blonde, fashionable 18 year old."

Clint made some sort of growling noise, and everyone looked at him. He looked back at all of them and threw his hands up. "What?"


	3. Foreigner

**A/N: **Remember to read Jenette's newest diary entry after this.

This has been newly edited. There shouldn't be any errors. If there are then damn, three days of nonstop work must've really got to my eyes. Please read, review, and enjoy.

* * *

Jenette and Pepper were at a smoothie shop not far from Stark Tower. It was a quaint place with quiet people, and Jenette really enjoyed it. Her smoothie was peach mango, and Pepper's was strawberry banana. Jenette was really glad to be spending time with Pepper, considering that they were related, too.

She had only found out two days ago that not only was she related to Tony, but now she was related to Pepper too. Even if it wasn't by blood, Jenette was happy at how her family had grown. She hoped that someday she'd feel at home with all the Avengers. But there was the ever constant dilemma that one of them had murdered her father. Jenette drank her smoothie quietly, trying not to think about the mystery lying at her feet.

Pepper smiled at her. "So how do you like Stark Tower? Does it feel okay yet?" Pepper was so beautiful. Even as the years had passed she looked like she hadn't aged a bit.

Jenette swallowed the drink that was in her mouth then nodded slightly. "The Avengers are being nice to me, so that's good. And my bed is just wonderful, so sleeping there isn't a problem at all."

Pepper cocked an eyebrow. "No one is giving you trouble? Not even Clint?" Jenette smiled down at the white table. "No, Clint has been really nice to me. He's pretty funny, too. He's always telling me stories about the pranks he's pulled on the people at Stark Tower."

Pepper smiled as well. "Just don't let him trick you. He's a nice guy, but if he ever pulls any moves on you, Tony's going to rip his arms off."

Jenette frowned at her, confused. "Why is he so protective of me? We only met two days ago." She still didn't see how Clint was so bad. Wasn't Tony the playboy?

Pepper shrugged. "Because you're his only blood family. See, you wouldn't understand because you hated him for so long. And plus you don't have to worry about him." She smiled. "Because he's got me." Then she took another drink of her smoothie.

Jenette leaned a little closer to her over the table. "But don't you ever worry about him? He's Iron Man, and he's your husband. He's always in danger."

Pepper chuckled. "No, and I'll tell you why." Then she paused and cocked her head to the side. "Or better yet, I can actually show you." Jenette was puzzled when Pepper stood, pulling her along.

* * *

When they returned to Stark Tower, Pepper was pulling Jenette along again. "Come, it's one of the higher levels," she said, a smile on her face.

By now Jenette was keeping up with her just fine, but she was still wondering what Pepper was so eager to show her. As they stepped in the elevator, she looked at Pepper and watched her hit a button for the very top floor. Jenette hadn't been to the top floor before. She'd always assumed maybe that's where Tony and Pepper's bedroom was, or maybe it was a place for meetings. She had never asked what was there.

The elevator climbed, and Jenette watched the red digital numbers above the door tell them where they were going. When they reached the top floor, there were no numbers, just the letter L. 'L?' Jenette wondered.

She jumped when she heard a voice from nowhere. "Beautiful day outside, isn't it?" the voice said. It was polite and male.

Pepper smiled. "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella." Jenette looked at her, oblivious as to what was going on.

The elevator doors slid open and directly in front of them, with no room to even take a step outside the elevator, was a glass door and a keypad. Now Jenette was even more confused. Pepper typed in a few numbers and letters on the hologram keypad and then the glass door slid away quickly.

Pepper smiled at Jenette. "This is what I wanted to show you." She walked in, but Jenette hesitated in the elevator for a moment longer. Afraid the doors might close on her, she shuffled in. Once in, the doors closed behind her.

Jenette looked around at everything. If she could only describe the room with one word, it would be technology. It was everywhere. So many large screens and high tech keyboards that ran the length of the room. Holograms were in the middle of the room that resembled technological schematics for a new Iron Man suit.

"This is incredible…." Jenette mumbled. It was so overwhelming to see so many pieces of technology, hearing buzzing and beeping everywhere.

Pepper smiled at her. "Thank you." She walked with both hands behind her back, also looking around at everything. "This is the second Stark lab to be made in this tower. When Loki was here last in 2014, 10 years ago, he was on Earth for only an hour. He took control of my heart…." She looked at Jenette's startled face then continued. "With the information stored in my mind, he was able to easily access Tony's lab. He planned to use Tony's technology against him, but we do not know how or why. He even tried to take control of Bruce's heart, too.

"After that, Tony decided to move his lab to a higher floor, and so this lab was built. JARVIS is programmed to not allow the elevator to open unless the person in it answers his question correctly. Seems easy enough, but as the person answers, he takes a full scan of them. When Loki was last here, JARVIS was able to find the source of and memorize Loki's traces inside of me. Now when a person in the elevator says, 'Yes but I always carry an umbrella,' he scans for traces of Loki's presence just to be safe. If the question is answered incorrectly or if traces of Loki are found, JARVIS is programmed to let the elevator drop to the bottom of the tower, and anyone inside will surely be killed.

"It's risky, considering that someone we care about is more than likely to be the target of Loki, and that we could wind up killing someone we love, but everyone in Stark Tower is already in know of the dangers of being here. We are all willing to risk something like that happening to one of us if it means that we can be of any assistance to Tony and the other Avengers." Pepper looked at Jenette again, who was just in awe and shocked.

"Loki can take control of hearts?" she asked.

Pepper smiled, as if repressing a laugh, and nodded. "Yes, he can. Clint was one of the few to be compromised during the War of Manhattan. He was under Loki's control for quite a while." She walked over to Jenette, and lowered her voice. "He takes his staff, and with a speared end, he touches it to a person's chest, directly above the heart, and by doing that he can control them. The only way we know of to wake a person up from their state of control is for them to take a hard knock on the head."

Jenette was still curious. "But how does he do it? How does Loki control people through their hearts? I thought people were usually controlled by their minds." Mind control, that was something everyone knew about. Hypnotism was also in that category. But heart control?

Pepper smirked. "You want to know how I think he does it?" Jenette nodded, and Pepper reached out, playing with a piece of Jenette's hair in her hand. "See, secretly, everyone has darkness inside of their heart. No one is pure. Everyone has anger and frustrations do to the past or present or future. We've all been hurt, and I know that Loki knows that. I think he manipulates that anger and frustration inside of someone's heart until that person is in no control of all the darkness, and it overwhelms them. They submit to him. They succumb to the darkness."

Jenette swallowed, thinking about what darkness could be within her heart. All of the anger and frustrations and sadness from her father's death, how everyone lied and kept things from her for so long, even Rodney. All the years she spent with no contact to the outside world in that boarding school. Then she wondered what darkness could be lurking in Pepper's heart.

Pepper smiled at her then looked all around them again. "So, what do you think? Pretty cool, isn't it?"

Jenette laughed. "Yeah, this is all so awesome. It's all just so…wow. I can't even put it into words." She looked again at the hologram schematics in the center of the room. "What is this? The Mark VIII?"

Pepper nodded. "Tony didn't create any new supersuits after the War of Manhattan. The last one he used was the Mark VII. That's how he fought the Chitauri and it's how he fought Loki in 2014. But recently I think he's been bored. Not much evil to stop lately. He's been making these plans for a new supersuit, but I'm not sure what he plans to use a new suit for. Robbers don't exactly require all of these new gadgets." She crossed her arms, shaking her head.

Jenette could only smile. The thought of Tony still out on those streets, fighting ordinary crime was just tickling to her. She hadn't really thought about being related to a superhero until now. Before it was trying to comprehend being related to a billionaire, and then to a murderer, but now to a vigilante. She smiled solemnly, looking at the schematics. "I'm actually proud of him."

* * *

Later that night all the Avengers sat in the kitchenette, eating Chinese take-out. They were fairly quiet, not speaking very much. Jenette was so happy to be eating Chinese food again. It was the main thing she ate growing up in Singapore, and it was her favorite. She was pleased to see that she still remembered how to use chopsticks.

As she ate, questions stung at her mind. Questions about her uncle's lab on the top floor. Finally, her curiosity couldn't be held any longer. "So, Tony," when she had his attention - along with the attention of Steve, Pepper, and Clint - she said, "Pepper showed me the top floor today."

Tony's eyes shifted to Pepper beside him, who looked calm, cool, and collected. He then glanced back to Jenette for a moment before looking back down into his food container, picking around a piece of pork to the noodles underneath. "Did she now? And what did you think?"

Jenette smiled. "It's quite impressive."

A smile quirked at his lips and he looked at her. "Well thank you."

Jenette smiled at her food. "I wasn't just talking about the lab."

Now they were all looking at her, and Tony paused, a few noodles hanging out of his mouth. He glanced at everyone at the table then swallowed his mouthful. "Then, uh, what exactly did you mean?"

With a single chopstick, Jenette was poking at her ramen. "The schematics. Your plans."

Now the Avengers all looked at Tony with curious eyes. He pursed his lips. The others didn't know about his plans to make a new supersuit. "You mean those pointless drawings? They're just scribbles."

Jenette smiled at him. "Not so. It didn't look that way. You wouldn't have put so much effort into a doodle."

He cocked his head to the side. "And how do you know that? I'm a genius; I'm capable of wasting some efforts on scrap."

She smirked. "But you wouldn't. Why would you? Why would a Stark ever waste their time?"

Now it was silent again. Tony looked down at the table. "Alright, you're correct. You've caught me, Jenette." He looked at the others. "I've been making plans for a new Iron Man suit."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at him and Steve asked, "Why? Nothing very violent has been happening recently. A few muggings doesn't really call for new technology." After all this time, Steve still believed that problems could be easier solved the old fashioned way. When would he ever grow out of the past?

Tony half smiled. "While my niece is right that I'm making a new suit, she fails to understand that the question isn't 'why am I making it?' The real question is 'who is this for?' And that question itself can be taken one of two ways. It can refer to who is the new danger the suit is being made to fight against, or who is the person that will be bestowed the suit."

Clint shook his head. "I don't understand."

Tony looked at Clint. "No, you wouldn't understand, because I haven't told a one of you the answer to that question." He looked at Pepper. "Not even Pepper."

Pepper was even confused now. "But wait, Tony, if you're not making the suit for yourself, who are you making it for?"

With hesitation, Tony's eyes lazily shifted to Jenette, and so everyone turned to her. She looked at all of them, then Tony. "Wait, for me?"

Tony smiled. "Yeah, for you. Don't think of it as a present. Think of it as letting you enter the family business."

Natasha looked at Tony seriously. "Does Director Fury know about this?"

He shrugged to her. "Why should I have to tell him? Right now is the first time I've told anyone."

Bruce was skeptical. "Tony, you can't just give the power of being Iron Man to anyone. You yourself proved that point years ago. Remember all the trouble with the government when Ivan Vanko arose? If you're not going to make the suits for the military, they're not going to want to see anyone else using them."

Clint nodded. "Yeah, we've tracked down people trying to achieve Iron Man technology all over the globe and stopped them in their tracks. Are you really going to give your niece this power? It's going to make you look bad."

Thor was confused. "I do not understand. What harm can come if the young one helps fight against evil?"

Steve looked at him and answered, "Well just listen to that statement. 'Young one.' She's still a kid." Then he looked at Tony sternly. "And I'm not about to allow something like this."

Tony stood. "Well that's just fine and dandy, because I'm not prepared to listen to your leader crap anyway."

Steve stood too, making it a showdown on Chinese night. "Why don't you go put on that suit of yours then? I'll beat all that worthless technology right out of you."

"Worthless?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "Come on guys, are we really going to do this?"

"You think my technology is worthless, Rogers? Well look the fuck around you. This tower is built out of it, and if you want to keep a home here, I suggest you take back that statement."

"Put on the suit and make me, Stark."

With a bit more bickering between the two and from the others at the table trying to get them to sit down and eat, Jenette piped up. "Uh, excuse me, gentlemen." Everyone looked at her, and she looked at Tony with a mix of annoyance and anger. "You haven't even asked me how the hell I feel about all of this."

Steve and Tony looked at each other, then Tony cleared his throat. "Well, would you like to have a supersuit of your own, Jenette?"

Natasha shook her head and stood. "No, it's out of the question."

Tony groaned at her. "No one asked you, Nat."

She glared. "Director Fury would not like hearing about this stupidity from you, Stark. You don't want to risk your position."

He laughed angrily. "Last time I checked I didn't give a rat's ass what Fury thought. If it pisses him off that I'm trying to bond with my niece by letting her help me fight crime then what kind of sick, twisted, fucking world is he living in?"

Pepper put her elbow on the table, head on her hand. "Tony, you know how much trouble you could get in for making someone else other than yourself an Iron Man suit. The government will be all over your ass just like they were in 2009. Do you really want them to think you haven't grown up since then?"

He glared down at her. "Well I've obviously grown up since then, haven't I? I got married didn't I? I let all of these people move in to our tower, I started housing my niece, I stopped Loki twice!"

With that, Jenette stood, flipping the table. Everyone ceased in their talking. After a moment of silence, Clint clicked his chopsticks. "I guess we're done eating…."

Jenette looked down at him then at Tony. "I said, you never asked me how I felt about all of this." They all stood, some of them sitting, quietly, listening to what she had to say. "I don't want to be a crime fighter. I'll be damned if I ever get in a high powered suit and go out with my uncle to kill marauders. No, I don't want a damn super suit. I read about everything that happened in 2009. Ivan Vanko obtained arc reactor technology and used it against you. The government couldn't have been more pissed off. I don't blame them. And you say you've grown up since then, but obviously you haven't if you're going to stand there and honestly tell me that those schematics upstairs are for me."

She stomped away, going to her room and slamming the door. A moment of silence passed by then Steve picked up the table, setting it back up. Chinese food had splattered the floor. Tony sighed, running a hand through his raven hair. "I'd offer to go talk to her but I think that would only make things worse."

Pepper nodded. "I don't think it'd be good for anyone to go and try to calm her down right now. We should just leave her alone until tomorrow." She smiled at Tony solemnly, putting a hand on his arm. "She'll be okay."

Natasha nodded. "In the meantime, I don't want to hear any more about the suit until Director Fury knows what's going on. Whether you like it or not, Stark, you're going to have to talk to him about this. Maybe even the government. You're going to have to come up with a damn good excuse for even having those blueprints."

Tony looked her, then away with his eyes, nodding. He didn't like it, but he knew that he'd have to deal with Fury at some point regarding the suit. Everyone went their separate ways and left Tony and Pepper with the Chinese mess. He glanced at Pepper. "Right about now I wish you hadn't let me fire that housekeeper."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "She kept stealing from you."

He shrugged. "I have money to spare."

"That's not the point, Tony, it's the moral of the situation."

"Yeah whatever. Either way we're stuck with this." He pointed at the slop on the floor.

She smiled at him. "If you make me help you clean that, you're out of the bed tonight."

His jaw dropped a bit. "That's hardly fair. Come on, she's your niece too."

She grinned, walking away. "Have fun, Tony."

He glared down at the mess on the floor and shook his head. "Damn teenagers. I told her I was no good with kids."


	4. Family

**A/N: **I am Sooo sorry this took so long! I hope people still read. If so, thenplease read, review, and enjoy.

* * *

Jenette didn't talk to Tony for two days; he was so pissed about it. He tried to make conversation with her, but she wouldn't say anything - she would barely even look his way. At night, Tony wasn't able to sleep, just thinking about it all.

Pepper was concerned for him. "Tony, it'll be alright."

He shook his head at her, getting out of bed. "Pepper, she's been here five days, and in that time she's gone from hating me, to being okay with being around me, to admiring me, to hating me again. I told you, I'm no good with kids or teenagers."

Pepper crawled across the bed to his side and leaned to where he stood, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Tony, come back to bed. No sleep and all this worry isn't good for you. She's just confused, that's all. She thought you were the person who killed her father, so now she's having to form new feelings for you."

Tony looked down at his wife. "I get that, Pep, but I was only making the supersuit because I want to bond with her. She wasn't supposed to know about it yet, or that it was for her, at least."

Pepper let go of him, sitting on her knees on the bed. "Then why did you tell her the truth? You could've lied and said you were bored, you felt like making plans for another supersuit. You didn't have to say it was for her."

He sat next to her, sighing a bit. "I don't want to lie to her, though. She's family. I lie to the others, I'll admit, I've lied to you, too. But I don't want that with her. This is my chance to be completely truthful with someone."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You lie to me?"

He shrugged, smiling a bit. "Not really anymore."

She turned from him, starting back towards her side. "And how do I know _that's _not a lie?"

He tackled her and they were both laughing. Pepper turned over so that Tony wasn't on her back and she kissed him, her hands on his cheeks. Then she stared lovingly into his eyes, brushing her thumbs across his cheekbones. "I love you so much, do you know that? What you're doing for Jenette is so sweet, and in time she'll come around."

Tony rolled his eyes, and said with playful sarcasm, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Pepper groaned and kissed him again, making him laugh. She always knew how to make him feel better. She was so perfect.

* * *

The next day, Day #6 of Jenette being at Stark Tower, Tony was in his lab, contemplating whether or not to throw away the schematics for Jenette's supersuit. They'd caused so much drama between not only he and his niece, but amongst the other Avengers as well. Not to mention if he didn't throw the plans away, he'd have to deal with Fury and the government. Was it really worth it all?

As he sat there staring at the hologram plans in front of him, the elevator door to his lab opened. He turned in his swivel chair to see Jenette standing on the other side of the glass. His eyes widened a bit.

Jenette pointed at the keypad. "I don't know the code. And I don't think JARVIS will just let me in."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Jenette, it's against my protocol," JARVIS answered.

Tony stood and hurriedly walked over to the door, and the hologram keypad switched over to his side so that he could enter the code. Once it was entered, the doors opened and Jenette stepped inside so that they could close again. Tony just stared down at his niece, swallowing out of anticipation. He wasn't sure of what to say.

Jenette looked around him at the schematics then walked past him. "You still have these? Even after what Natasha said?"

He sighed and followed her, a small smile coming to his face. "You're talking to me." Stating the obvious out of shock - what else could he do?

She turned to face him, hugging herself lightly. "It's cold downstairs. You keep your tower too cold."

Tony looked up at the ceiling as if he imagined JARVIS to be hidden there. "JARVIS, could you change the temperature downstairs to just one degree higher?"

"Of course, sir," the AI system replied.

Tony looked at Jenette again. "I like the cold. Steve hates it. I guess he's not the only one."

Jenette shrugged. "It gets cold in London. I'm used to it. Doesn't mean I like it. I could just wear a sweater if you don't want to change the temperature too much. I don't mind."

Tony dismissed the idle conversation. "Why are you up here? Why are you talking to me again? I was convinced this time that you would hate me forever."

"Well would you like me to leave?" she asked with an arched brow.

Tony shook his head. "Oh, God, no. No, I want you to stay. …I'm sorry about the other night, if I embarrassed you or-"

She held up a hand. "Tony, stop. It's fine." She lowered her hand again. "I don't mean to be dictating, but that's not why I came up here."

Tony crossed his arms, only slightly alarmed. "Okay, well then why did you come up here? Want a tour?" Hopefully she wasn't here to yell at him.

Jenette shook her head, then turned to the schematics again. "I wanted to see if you discarded these. I actually wanted a closer look."

Tony was a bit confused now. "You're interested?"

She smiled a bit. "Don't get your hopes up. No, I just wanted to come and look at them, to see what you planned a supersuit that belonged to me would look like, be like."

Tony smiled a bit back at her. _'Thank God, she's smiling.' _He walked towards them. "Yeah, sure, no problem. Lucky you came up when you did. I was just about to throw them away."

Jenette looked at him curiously. "You were? Why?"

He sighed, looking at them, both hands on his hips. "Well, I figured if you were going to hate me anyway, there was no point in going through all the trouble that would come along with having these." Tony glanced at her to observe any reaction she might have.

She looked down at the floor. "I don't hate you." Good reaction.

He turned to her. "But you don't want to fight crime." It wasn't a question. He was remembering that it had been one of the last things she'd said to him before giving him the cold shoulder - other than saying he was a child.

Jenette was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought, then looked at him again. "Well, to be honest, I've thought about it." When he raised his eyebrows at her, she continued. "It would be nice to help people. I know what it's like to lose things, and to be so angry about it, but I've never done anything with these feelings. I was afraid to face the world for so long; I only left the boarding school maybe twice in 13 years before I left for good.

"I was scared of everything after my father died. Even so, I was so angry, and I promised to myself that someday I would justify what happened to my father in some way. That's why I came here. I wanted to justify it by making you crazy, but you're not the killer. Then you made these plans for a supersuit for me." She looked at them. "And I started to think that maybe I should let you make me a suit. Maybe I should help you and the rest of the world in any way that I can." She looked at Tony again. "But I realize after so much thinking that I can't let you make me a supersuit of my own."

"But why?" he asked. "Yes, I'd have to take heat from Fury and the military but-"

"That's just it, Tony. There is no 'but.' Somehow you've been able to elude the government for all these years, and you've been able to keep your right to being the only Iron Man. Maybe it's because you've stopped the rest of the world from obtaining your technology. If you place this in my hands, then the government won't be angry with me. They'll be coming after _you. _I won't have that. This might be different if there was an emergency - if Loki was back - and you needed my help. But right now they world is semi-peaceful. There isn't a need for any new superheroes. You don't need my help, Tony, and you don't need the government to take away your Iron Man suits."

Tony sighed, curling his lips into his teeth. He hated, _hated _being wrong. But he also hated that Jenette was right. "Jenette, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that you're important to me. You truly are. I thought helping you become a hero would do that, since I'm not good with kids, and I don't really know how to make teenagers like me."

Jenette smiled. "Tony, it's okay. I understand. If you were good with kids, you'd have children with Pepper. Maybe it was the way grandpa treated you, because he wasn't any better to my father from what I can tell."

Tony laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "No, I'm pretty sure _grandpa _loved Greg a lot more than he loved me. Greg was blonde - he reminded him of Steve. It's actually sort of a surprise he didn't name him Steve." He laughed a bit again, but it was only sad laughter.

Jenette frowned then didn't hesitate to hug him. Tony didn't return the hug at first, but then he couldn't resist. "I'm so sorry, Uncle Tony."

Tony still didn't let her go, but he smiled down at her. "I don't think you've called me _Uncle _Tony before. It was always just Tony."

She smiled at him and put her head on his chest. "Well you are my uncle."

Tony's grin widened and he slightly tightened his hug on her. He felt so lucky to have Jenette.

* * *

They came back downstairs together, but only after Tony had deleted the schematics for the Mark VIII. Jenette had asked him if he was sure it was something he wanted to do, but he assured her that now there was no doubt in his mind.

It was news that the other Avengers were glad to hear about.

Natasha gave him a nod. "Well, good. It's for the best, Tony."

Clint smiled. "Now we don't have to worry about dealing with Fury or the government. Good move, Tony."

Tony smiled, clearing his throat. "Well, I suppose it's the best decision for all of us. I just needed Jenette to knock some sense into me."

Natasha pursed her lips in a mocking fashion. "You mean like she did her first day here?"

Bruce smiled, his curiosity coming out. "What happened her first day?"

Even Steve's interest was sparked. "Did she actually _knock _sense into you?"

Jenette smiled, looking up at her uncle. "No, I just teased all his pressure points."

Clint winced a bit and Bruce and Natasha both just started laughing. Steve and Thor looked confused.

"What is a pressure point?" Thor boomed. "I do not understand."

"They're parts of the body where nerve endings are extra sensitive," Pepper answered.

Steve cocked an eyebrow at her. "But I thought she was his niece."

Clint face palmed then groaned. "Oh my God, Steve, no."

Jenette blushed when Pepper said, "No, no, Steve, not in a _fondue _sort of way. In a painful way."

"Oh…" Steve mumbled, feeling like an idiot.

Even Tony couldn't help it and laughed at him.

* * *

"Daddy?" a small voice chimed from Greg Stark's beside.

He moaned a bit in his sleep, still not opening his eyes. "What is it, pumpkin?"

Jenette, only five years old, put her hands on the edge of the bed, barely able to look at her father over the side of the humungous bed - even when on her tip-toes. "I had bad dreams. There's a man in my closet."

Greg turned over slowly to face her, propping up his elbow to rest his head on it. "Is there, now?"

Jenette nodded. "Will you come beat him up for me?"

He chuckled and sat up. "Okay, pumpkin."

Once out of bed, he had hunch over so that Jenette could grasp his fingers and pull him along to her room.

When he reached for her light switch, she tugged on his fingers. "No, don't."

He looked down at her, only able to see her bright blonde hair and shining eyes in the dark. "Why not?"

"Because you'll wake Hedge Pedge."

Greg sighed, but smiled. "Alright, pumpkin."

She let go of his hand and then ran to hide behind her bed as he walked to her closet. He opened the doors, a light automatically coming on inside as he walked in. "I don't see anyone in here. And if there was, the light would've come on."

Jenette peeked over the side of the bed. "But I saw him in there, I know it. He had glowing, green eyes."

Greg walked back out of the closet, closing the doors. "Well, I don't think he'll come back. Not if he knows what's good for him." He half smiled at Jenette and then walked over to her. "Did you want to sleep in my bed tonight?" She nodded. "Do you want to bring Hedge Pedge?" Jenette nodded again. "Okay, get her."

As Jenette hopped on her bed to grab the pink and white hedgehog, she corrected him, "Hedge Pedge is a he."

When she came back down to walk beside him, he arched a brow at her. "But he's pink. I think Hedge Pedge is a girl."

Jenette stubbornly shook her head as they walked back to his room. "No, no, no. Hedge Pedge _is _a boy. But he's gay, and I embrace that."

Greg was surprised. "Where did you learn that word?"

Jenette giggled. "I won't tell."

He pulled back the covers and helped Jenette into his bed. "Well then maybe he should sleep on your side with you. I'm not gay."

She giggled again as she nestled in the covers. "Don't worry, Daddy. You're not his type."

Greg paused for a moment before getting into bed with her. "Remind me to get you a new tutor."

* * *

Jenette woke from her dream, and instantly she looked at her closet. For a second, she saw the green eyes there again, and gasped, but then they were gone. She began to take deep breaths. _'The man with green eyes…'_

She quickly got out of bed and went to her closet, switching on the light. When no one was there, she laughed at herself. "He's not real," she told herself. Then she turned off the light again. Jenette went back to her bed, but then stopped before she could crawl back into the covers. She looked at her closet again. Still no eyes were there.

Without taking much time to think about it, Jenette grabbed Hedge Pedge then walked over and closed her closet door. After that she walked quickly and quietly out of her room and to the elevator, getting inside. The doors closed, and Jenette looked up at the top of the elevator. "JARVIS, will you take me to the floor with Tony's room? But don't wake him up, please."

Once the elevator stopped, she walked out and the doors closed again. She glanced around. _'So this is Tony's floor.' _It looked almost like the inside of a house - a living space, a kitchen with a bar, even a balcony. She tip-toed down the hallway and passed doors that she thought might lead to offices and bathrooms, until she got to the door at the very end. This had to be the bedroom.

Jenette opened the door and peeked inside. Tony and Pepper were sleeping quietly, and to her great relief they weren't spooning or doing anything fondue-y. She walked in and closed the door silently behind her. She didn't feel like waking them up, so instead she laid down at the foot of the bed on the floor, using Hedge Pedge as a pillow. She knew Hedge Pedge wouldn't mind. Jenette smiled a bit as she tried to imagine what Tony's expression might be when he woke up in the morning to see Jenette on the floor - probably gasping in shock and hoping she hadn't seen him cuddling with Pepper.

Once Jenette was asleep, Tony switched on his bedside lamp and sat up. Pepper stayed curled up, but she was awake as well. She watched as Tony got out of bed - still fully dressed, by the way - and picked up Jenette to put her in the bed. He didn't forget about Hedge Pedge, picking up the little homosexual hedgehog and placing him in Jenette's arms. There was still plenty of room to spare when Tony got back into bed and turned off his light. Pepper smiled at her sleeping niece, petting the hair out of her face. Then she looked across Jenette at Tony, who was propped up on one elbow, also watching his niece sleep.


End file.
